Time Riders

CHAPTER 66

2001, New York

Day 5? (since the power went)

So now we’re waiting. Waiting for the time machine to store up enough of acharge for us to try opening a window.

There’s no way we’ll know if they got the message we sent. No way of knowinguntil we open the window in Washington. If they got it, then they should step through andappear right in front of us. If they didn’t… then we’ll be wasting ourenergy for nothing.

Everything’s off in here. All the lights, everything.

Maddy suggested we should put the ‘field bubble’ back on so that we’dflip back in forty-eight hours’ time. If those creatures outside haven’t managedto find us by then… we’d be safe from them. Because whatever progress they madein finding out where we’re hiding would be lost when we ‘reset’. ButFoster said it would drain too much power from charging up the displacement machine. He saidthat’s the only thing that matters right now — getting that thing chargedup.

Jahulla… I’d rather have the bubble on, and have to wait a little longer. Everylittle noise outside makes me jump out of my skin.

‘How much longer, do you reckon?’ asked Maddy.

Foster studied the row of winking lights on the machinery’s chargedisplay. ‘I’d guess, four or five more hours.’

‘That long?’

‘Four or five more hours… we open the window and they should pop into existenceright here.’ He smiled encouragingly at her. ‘Simple as that.’

Although it’s not as simple as that… is it?

Foster really wasn’t certain the thudding generator in the back room was going to havestored up enough of a charge for them to produce a window big enough for even Liam. So manyfactors to consider: the distance from here, the size of the window, the mass of the personsbeing sent — all variables that affected how much energy would be needed. Whilethey’d been tapped into New York’s electricity grid, these weren’tconsiderations that normally had to be taken into account, but now running on what meagreenergy they’d managed to generate… every variable was an important factor to weighup. And getting Liam and Bob home wasn’t the only window they needed power for — there was also sending them back to where they needed to go to fix this problem once and forall. Foster had to be sure to conserve enough of a charge to be able to do that too.

He cursed under his breath. Too many unknowns.

‘So, they may have got the message, Foster,’ said Maddy, ‘but what if theycan’t make it to the location we specified? What if it’s just not possible?’She tapped the monitor in front of her showing a street map of Washington DC. ‘The citycould be completely different. There might not even be a street there in their time. Itcould’ve been built over by the Germans or razed to the ground… or… orsubmerged beneath some large rubbish tip, or — ’

‘We have to take that chance.’ Foster sat tiredly back in the old office chairwith squeaky castor wheels and a faded threadbare cover. ‘Liam’sa smart lad. Between them they’ll find a way, Madelaine. They’ll find a way tomake it there in time.’

‘If they’re still alive, that is,’ she added grimly.

Foster could’ve replied irritably that her doom and gloom wasn’t exactly helpingthings. But she was right. There were many reasons why this was just a desperate shot in thedark. If it failed…

Then this is it.

The world left forever like this — just ashes and rubble. And living within this ruinedlandscape, those pitiful mutated creatures feeding on the flesh of each other, scavenging likerats. In a few days’ time they’d be out of water and canned food, then have to beout there scavenging for food just like them.

And how long before those creatures found them? Found their little archway? They may mewl andbabble like babies, but there was intelligence in those pale eyes. He could well imagine themslowly but surely scouring the city for them, gradually zeroing in on them. The thought of itset the grey hairs on his forearms on end.

If those things managed to find them here… they’d work out a way to get inside.After all, their humble little base was little more than a crumbling bricks-and-mortararchway. Hardly impregnable.

They’ll find a way in… and it will all be over veryquickly.

He couldn’t let the girls know what he was thinking, of course. He couldn’t letthem know that he suspected their plan was almost certainly doomed to failure. The chance ofthe message getting through was painfully slim, let alone Liam and Bob being able to make theappointed window in time. And listening to the faltering muffled chug of the generator…it sounded like it was on its last legs. Chances were there wasn’t going to be enough ofa charge on the displacement machine to get them out of this fix, anyway.

‘You OK, Foster?’ asked Maddy quietly. Quiet enough for Sal notto hear. ‘You don’t look so good.’

He smiled. ‘I’m fine… just a little tired.’

‘This is going to work, isn’t it?’ sheasked.

He needed to put a brave face on things for now.

‘Sure, of course it is. It’s going to be fine.’

Fine?

If they failed to bring Liam and Bob home and they were stuck here alone in this ruined placeforever, then he silently vowed he’d do the deed that was necessary. There were a dozenrounds of ammo in his shotgun. The first nine he’d use to defend them if those creaturesfound their base and decided to break in.

The last three? Well, there’d be one for each of them.